I gained my BSc in Biochemistry from University College London before doing a PhD on restriction enzyme enzymology at the University of Bristol with Steve Halford. This was followed by a postdoc with Marty Gellert (NIH, Bethesda, USA) on DNA gyrase. In 1982 I moved back to the UK and was awarded a ‘New Blood’ Lectureship at the University of Leicester, and stayed until 2000, becoming a Professor in 1997.
My work at this time largely centred on structure/mechanism aspects of Escherichia coli DNA gyrase, and extended to work on aminocoumarin and quinolone drugs, and later to work on human topoisomerase II. During the period 1991-1997, I held a Lister-Jenner Research Fellowship. In 2000 I moved to the John Innes Centre to be Head of Biological Chemistry, and became an Honorary Professor at the University of East Anglia in 2001.
My current research interests are the structure and function of DNA topoisomerases and associated proteins, their role in biological processes, and their exploitation in chemotherapeutics. Present work focuses on gyrases and topoisomerases from E. coli, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Staphylococcus aureus and archaeal species, with a particular emphasis on work aimed at antibiotic discovery. I am co-founder and Director of Inspiralis Ltd (https://www.inspiralis.com/) a spin-out company supplying products and services to academia and the pharmaceutical industry. I have published >200 research papers, reviews, books and book chapters.